Petr Yan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Petr Yan |
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Petr Yan at UFC Fight Night 136 in Moscow, Russia
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| Born | Petr Evgenyevich Yan 11 February 1993 Dudinka, Taymyr Autonomous Okrug, Russia |
| Native name | Пётр Ян |
| Nickname(s) | No Mercy |
| Residence | Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Weight | 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) |
| Division | Bantamweight |
| Reach | 67 in (170 cm) |
| Fighting out of | Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia |
| Team | Tiger Muay Thai Archangel Michael Fight Club American Top Team |
| Rank | Master of Sport in Boxing Master of Sport in MMA Blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 23 |
| Wins | 18 |
| By knockout | 7 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 10 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By decision | 4 |
| By disqualification | 1 |
| Spouse | Julia Yan |
| Children | 2 |
Petr Evgenyevich Yan (born 11 February 1993) is a professional MMA fighter from Russia. He is known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The UFC is one of the biggest MMA organizations in the world. Petr Yan used to be the UFC Bantamweight Champion. Before joining the UFC, he was also a champion in another Russian fighting league called Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB). As of January 2025, he is ranked #2 in the UFC's bantamweight division.
Contents
Early Life and Boxing Training
Petr Yan's father has a Chinese background, and his mother has a Georgian-Russian background. When he was in sixth grade, Petr started learning ITF taekwondo. He often got into fights in his neighborhood and at school. Because of this, his family moved several times to try and help him avoid trouble.
Petr's older brother trained in boxing in the city of Dudinka. Petr really wanted to learn boxing too. At first, his brother didn't want to take him along. So, Petr secretly followed his brother to the boxing gym. From that day on, Petr trained in boxing for eight years. He became a "Master of Sport" in boxing in the 64 kg weight class. This is a very high honor in Russian sports. Later, Petr graduated from Siberian Federal University with a degree in Physical Culture and Sport.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Starting His MMA Journey
Petr Yan began his professional MMA career in December 2014. His first fight was at the Eurasian Fighting Championship. He won this fight by knockout in the third round.
In 2015, Yan joined a Russian fighting league called Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB). He quickly became popular after his first fight there. He won that fight against a very experienced Brazilian fighter. In his third fight, he won by submission in less than a minute! After that, he won another fight by knockout in the first round.
Becoming an ACB Champion
On October 24, 2015, Petr Yan fought Murad Kalamov. He won the fight by decision. This win gave him a chance to fight for the ACB bantamweight championship belt.
Petr Yan had his first professional loss on March 26, 2016. He fought Magomed Magomedov for the championship. Magomedov won by a split decision after five rounds. Many people, including the ACB president, thought Petr Yan should have won. The ACB president even promised a rematch. Even though he lost, this fight was named ACB's best fight of 2016.
After this loss, Yan fought Ed Arthur and won by decision. Then, in April 2017, he got his rematch against Magomed Magomedov. This time, Petr Yan won by decision after another tough five-round fight. He became the ACB bantamweight champion!
In September 2017, Yan defended his title against Matheus Mattos. He won by knockout in the third round. He hit Mattos with a strong uppercut, and the referee stopped the fight.
Joining the UFC
After defending his ACB title, Petr Yan signed a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in January 2018. The UFC is the biggest MMA organization in the world.
Yan's first UFC fight was on June 23, 2018. He won by technical knockout in the first round. Later that year, he fought Jin Soo Son and won by decision. This exciting fight earned him the "Fight of the Night" award. He then fought Douglas Silva de Andrade and won when his opponent's corner stopped the fight.
In early 2019, Petr Yan signed a new contract with the UFC. He continued his winning streak. He beat John Dodson and Jimmie Rivera by decision. After his win against Dodson, he signed an even longer contract with the UFC.
In December 2019, Yan faced Urijah Faber. He won by knockout in the third round. This impressive win earned him the "Performance of the Night" award. After this fight, Yan felt ready to challenge for the UFC bantamweight title.
Becoming UFC Bantamweight Champion
The UFC bantamweight title became available when the champion, Henry Cejudo, retired. Petr Yan then got to fight José Aldo for the vacant title. This big fight happened on July 12, 2020. Petr Yan won by technical knockout in the fifth round. He became the new UFC Bantamweight Champion!
Yan was supposed to defend his title against Aljamain Sterling in December 2020. The fight was moved to March 6, 2021. In this fight, Petr Yan lost his title by disqualification. He landed an illegal knee during the fight, which is against the rules.
A rematch with Sterling was planned for October 2021. However, Sterling had to pull out due to neck issues. Cory Sandhagen stepped in to fight Yan for an interim (temporary) championship. Yan won this fight by decision, and it was named "Fight of the Night."
Another title unification rematch with Aljamain Sterling happened on April 9, 2022. Petr Yan lost this fight by a split decision.
Later Fights
Petr Yan faced Sean O'Malley on October 22, 2022. He lost this fight by a split decision. Many fans and fighters thought Yan should have won. The fight was still exciting enough to earn the "Fight of the Night" bonus.
On March 11, 2023, Yan fought Merab Dvalishvili and lost by decision.
Yan was scheduled to fight Song Yadong in December 2023 but had to withdraw due to an injury. The fight was rebooked for March 9, 2024. During this fight, Yan suffered a serious knee injury. Even with the injury, he managed to win the fight by decision!
Most recently, on November 23, 2024, Petr Yan fought former UFC Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo. Yan won the fight by decision.
Personal Life
Petr Yan is married and has two sons. In 2022, during a conflict between Russia and Ukraine, he shared an image on social media showing the flags of both countries with a dove of peace. This showed his hope for peace.
Achievements and Awards
Mixed Martial Arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Bantamweight Championship (One time)
- Interim UFC Bantamweight Championship (One time)
- Fight of the Night (Three times)
- Performance of the Night (One time)
- Tied for the third longest winning streak in UFC Bantamweight history (7 wins in a row)
- Tied for second most knockdowns in UFC Bantamweight history (10)
- Third most significant strikes landed in UFC Bantamweight history (1236)
- Third most total fight time in UFC Bantamweight history (4 hours, 2 minutes, 4 seconds)
- Holds wins over two former UFC champions — José Aldo and Deiveson Figueiredo
- Absolute Championship Berkut
- ACB Bantamweight Championship (One time)
- One successful title defense
- ACB Bantamweight Grand Prix 2015 Champion
- ACB Bantamweight Championship (One time)
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 23 matches | 18 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 7 | 0 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 10 | 4 |
| By disqualification | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 18–5 | Deiveson Figueiredo | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Figueiredo | 23 November 2024 | 5 | 5:00 | Macau, SAR, China | |
| Win | 17–5 | Song Yadong | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 299 | 9 March 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Miami, Florida, United States | |
| Loss | 16–5 | Merab Dvalishvili | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili | 11 March 2023 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 16–4 | Sean O'Malley | Decision (split) | UFC 280 | 22 October 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Fight of the Night. |
| Loss | 16–3 | Aljamain Sterling | Decision (split) | UFC 273 | 9 April 2022 | 5 | 5:00 | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | For the UFC Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 16–2 | Cory Sandhagen | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 267 | 30 October 2021 | 5 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Won the interim UFC Bantamweight Championship. Fight of the Night. |
| Loss | 15–2 | Aljamain Sterling | DQ (illegal knee) | UFC 259 | 6 March 2021 | 4 | 4:29 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Lost the UFC Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 15–1 | José Aldo | TKO (punches) | UFC 251 | 12 July 2020 | 5 | 3:24 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Won the vacant UFC Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 14–1 | Urijah Faber | KO (head kick) | UFC 245 | 14 December 2019 | 3 | 0:43 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 13–1 | Jimmie Rivera | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 238 | 8 June 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 12–1 | John Dodson | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Santos | 23 February 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Prague, Czech Republic | |
| Win | 11–1 | Douglas Silva de Andrade | TKO (corner stoppage) | UFC 232 | 29 December 2018 | 2 | 5:00 | Inglewood, California, United States | |
| Win | 10–1 | Son Jin-soo | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Hunt vs. Oleinik | 15 September 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Moscow, Russia | Catchweight (137 lb) bout; Son missed weight. Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 9–1 | Teruto Ishihara | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Edwards | 23 June 2018 | 1 | 3:28 | Kallang, Singapore | |
| Win | 8–1 | Matheus Mattos | TKO (punches) | ACB 71 | 23 September 2017 | 3 | 2:27 | Moscow, Russia | Defended the ACB Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 7–1 | Magomed Magomedov | Decision (unanimous) | ACB 57 | 15 April 2017 | 5 | 5:00 | Moscow, Russia | Won the ACB Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 6–1 | Ed Arthur | Decision (unanimous) | ACB 41 | 15 July 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Sochi, Russia | |
| Loss | 5–1 | Magomed Magomedov | Decision (split) | ACB 32 | 26 March 2016 | 5 | 5:00 | Moscow, Russia | For the inaugural ACB Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 5–0 | Murad Kalamov | Decision (unanimous) | ACB 24 | 24 October 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Moscow, Russia | Won the 2015 ACB Bantamweight Grand Prix. |
| Win | 4–0 | Artur Mirzakhanyan | TKO (punches) | Professional Fight Night 10: Russia Cup | 5 July 2015 | 1 | 2:40 | Omsk, Russia | |
| Win | 3–0 | Kharon Orzumiev | Submission (guillotine choke) | ACB 19 | 30 May 2015 | 1 | 0:47 | Kaliningrad, Russia | 2015 ACB Bantamweight Grand Prix Semifinal. |
| Win | 2–0 | Renato Velame | Decision (unanimous) | ACB 14 | 28 February 2015 | 3 | 5:00 | Grozny, Russia | 2015 ACB Bantamweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 1–0 | Murad Bakiev | KO (punch) | Siberian League: Baikal Cup 2014 | 20 December 2014 | 3 | 0:45 | Irkutsk, Russia | Bantamweight debut. |
See also
- List of current UFC fighters
- List of male mixed martial artists
